A person smarter than I once claimed that evolution does not produce a better species - it merely produces a different species.

EK mentions in his description about himself the joy he felt when he could watch the Flyers on PRISM when he was growing up. I confess I am fully capable of getting nostalgic - but when I read that I did smile a bit because I really think that PRISM was where today's modern day Flyer fan was created.

Sure - the 40 and 50 year olds remember everything the Bullies...me I consider my Flyers era to be jointly tied to my acquisition of PRISM in the LATE 70's. I distinctly remember the intensity of many of the 35 game unbeaten streak at home sneaking into my TV room and watching PRISM....and I was hooked.

PRISM showed all Philadelphia home sports as well as the WWF (at the time) card from the Spectrum. Local TV showed the away games. I followed it all. I loved how low tech things were then. We had an old "Jerold" Box that was actually wired to the cable box. The box itself had about 15 buttons on the bottom with a switch that allowed you to switch between 3 levels of channel. 45 CHANNELS! Oh my god! PRISM was Channel 16 in Cherry Hill.

There was a certain intensity about Flyers games. Like most of the older stadia the intensity level of the games were higher - largely because the fans practically hung over the ice. This really came through the TV on PRISM.

To me there was a magic behind watching a home Flyers game with the late, great Gene Hart and Bobby Taylor covering a great game at the Spectrum. I did not go to many games - so they were my lifeline. Gene Hart could fit more commentary into a short sentence than any commentator I've heard since.

The game was much more open. The age of a 200 point season in hockey...defensemen who had 120 point seasons...are you kidding me?

And the Flyers...well...they could do no wrong. From the earliest part of the decade through 1988 they could beat just about anyone (except EDM of course). Absolute magic. Dave Poulin scoring 2 man shorthanded...no problem. Brian Propp...guffaw! Tim Kerr - whatta horse. The quickest way to get a girl in junior high was to say you were either a Peter Zezel (pre-Youngblood) or Rick Tocchet (pre-gambling, pre-shaved head) fan. It was the era where Mike Keenan coaching was en vogue - my how things have changed.

And I watched it all on PRISM. There was just something to it. The feeling of it all is something that I'm afraid went away as the game changed. Most fans in the Delaware Valley my age consider this the golden age of hockey - and what today's game is compared against.

So I've watched the evolution to the events that we speak of on the boards today and I sigh. It's fun to talk about it and rag on the Ranger and Sabre fans but it is not quite the same. Too many Devils traps...shootouts...lockouts...expansion...and realignments as well as middle aging has changed my view on hockey. I don't care for CSN coverage either. The game is just less intense - almost too clinical - but's that my team out there and that's where I have to go to watch them.

Evolution...it does make only a different species...but I'll take PRISM anyday.

BTW - I'm sure someone else has directed folks to this site before - but when I need my PRISM ERA fix - I click on http://www.nhluniforms.com/ - the best hockey uniform nostalgia website on the web.

July 14, 2007 12:04 PM ET
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Loved that Jerold Cable box. We didn't have Prism--parents didn't want to "pay" for hockey, I found if I took the left switch and set it just right between bands 1 and 2, before it "clicked" in, I could get a scrambled but barely watchable picture on the screen...I'd try for hours at at a time...

July 15, 2007 9:03 PM ET
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great blog, i remember the prism days fondly, we didnt have cable but my best friend did, we'd watch all the flyers games we could, usually i had to go home after second or during the third period, but i remember it well, that was some great hockey.

July 17, 2007 12:00 PM ET
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My dad was one of the first on our block to get PRISM and we'd have all the neighbors over to watch Flyers games. Those were the days.We also got to watch cheesy comedies like "Popeye" and "Top Secret" 100's of times every summer. Ah, Prism, we miss ye...

July 17, 2007 12:00 PM ET
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My dad was one of the first on our block to get PRISM and we'd have all the neighbors over to watch Flyers games. Those were the days.We also got to watch cheesy comedies like "Popeye" and "Top Secret" 100's of times every summer. Ah, Prism, we miss ye...